I Became a Murderer in the Academy.

Chapter 89

Ariel and Sera were taken somewhere to receive immediate emergency treatment. There were skilled priests and clerics among the academy’s faculty.

They would likely receive appropriate treatment.

I approached the monster’s corpse to retrieve the fragment.

Its huge body and high concentration of magical energy – no matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t an opponent who would be defeated so easily.

Even Albert, at full strength, would have had difficulty securing victory against the monster.

It was probably as strong as Sword Saint Freya.

‘Ariel surpassed the Sword Saint?’

No matter how strong starlight was, it didn’t make sense how he, who was weaker than the chief knight, grew in an instant.

Freya was a woman who cut off Iria’s arm with just a single sword. Is Ariel now stronger than that woman?

It was hard to believe, even after seeing it with my own eyes, witnessing such rapid growth from a student’s level to humanity’s strongest.

But that wasn’t it. As Iria approached the monster’s corpse, the questions in her mind gradually resolved.

When she got close enough, the residual starlight on the monster’s body attacked her. Of course, it hurt.

Platinum starlight.

The hero’s starlight exists to kill the Demon King.

Starlight is poisonous to beings with even a fraction of the Demon King’s power.

Ariel wasn’t stronger than Freya, but when facing a Seed of the Demon King, it was a different story.

‘He will become my natural enemy in the future.’

“... I’ll wait for you at the end.”

Iria collected the last fragment from the academy before leaving.

***

After some time passed, the barrier covering the academy completely disappeared.

As the barrier vanished, reinforcements from the knights arrived at the academy, but they were too late.

By the time they arrived, everything had already been resolved.

Many people died or were injured in this incident, including both students and professors.

Given that it was an unprecedented crisis with several Seeds appearing at once, the consensus was that they were lucky it only ended like this.

Considering the presence of several Seeds and the remnants of the Demon King’s Army, it was amazing they weren’t completely annihilated.

While there were many injured, there were a lot fewer deaths than expected.

It’s unknown what factors led to such a result.

In any case, after the incident, Sertia received the most criticism.

The number of people calling out her incompetence in protecting the academy and Empire increased.

Even though there were fewer deaths compared to the scale of the incident, the dead wouldn’t come back.

Sertia, who was in the highest position, was also the easiest target for criticism.

Some raised their voices, saying her abilities were no longer what they used to be. Though she had protected the Empire for a long time, they said it was time for her to step down from the position of headmaster.

Sertia mostly accepted the criticism directed at her in official settings.

And,

She gave up her position as the academy’s headmaster.

***

During the three hours of chaos when she was incapacitated due to her poor physical condition, many people were injured or died.

Sertia felt immense guilt about this fact, almost too great to imagine.

It was because of her incompetence that she couldn’t protect people.

Now, her body couldn’t even repair the damaged barrier. A body that just uselessly rotted away, unable to do a thing.

Sertia used the wealth she had accumulated to compensate the bereaved families.

Money couldn’t heal the hearts of their families, but it was the least she could do.

If she didn’t do at least this much, she felt like she would crumble.

Both of Sertia’s eyes were dyed red. She had become something that couldn’t even be called human.

A monster that was neither human nor anything else.

It was so famous that even Iria, who usually ignored rumors, had heard about it. For days, all sorts of newspapers covered this story.

In any case, the saintess’ power was incredible.

With just a few waves of her hand, she purified all the lingering magical energy stuck in the garden. Golden holy power spread over the area, erasing the magical energy.

She restored the garden and treated the injured. That one person could accomplish so much made Iria feel her power was truly astonishing.

“Ugh.”

Iria, however, didn’t like it that much.

A bit of holy power splashed onto her hair as she sat on the bench.

Her body reflexively reacted with rejection. Ultimately, Iria had no choice but to leave as if fleeing.

Disgusting holy magic users.

She wished they would step in dog poop on their way out.

Rushing out of the garden as if escaping, Iria wasn’t looking where she was going, so she bumped into someone.

It wasn’t a hard collision, instead producing a soft, cute “pak” sound.

It was the sound of Iria falling backward.

“......”

A blue-haired man reached out his hand to her. He seemed intent on helping her up.

But Iria didn’t take it.

Because the man offering his hand was Albert.

She had no particular desire to accept. She had too many emotionally charged incidents with him.

Ultimately, Iria got up on her own and dusted off her clothes.

Albert was severely injured, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be life-threatening.

Normally, he should be lying in the infirmary, but due to the lack of beds, he gave up his place to others.

As a professor, no matter how hurt he was, he still prioritized his students’ well-being over his own.

Albert asked in a low voice.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

“......”

How can he be so composed in front of the perpetrator?

Is it because there are so many eyes watching?

It doesn’t matter either way.

She didn’t particularly want to get involved with him.

Iria turned to leave, but Albert lightly grasped her sleeve.

Iria shot him a sharp look.

“Let go.”

“Can you spare a moment?”

“Why?”

“I want to have the conversation we couldn’t finish that day.”

“Do you want to die?”

“If you still feel the same after hearing me out, you can do as you please.”

“......”

He was more troublesome than she had expected.

Yet, she was curious.

She wondered why he didn’t show hostility despite knowing everything, and what his reaction that day meant.

That day when the rain was pouring so hard it soaked their hair.

‘Should I listen?’

She couldn’t spare much time, but he had bet his life on this one conversation.

He said with his own mouth that if she still felt the same after hearing his story, she could kill him.

“Fine, let’s go somewhere private.”